


Dreaming of You

by F1_rabbit



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Firefighters, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-22 20:37:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6093352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone sees their soulmate's dreams when they sleep, everyone except Nico.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nico's Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littlemissaily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemissaily/gifts), [fasterthanthetardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fasterthanthetardis/gifts).



> Chapter 1 is Nico & Esteban's story. Chapter 2 is Kevin's story, and they can be read as standalone fics set in the same universe.

When people sleep, they dream of their soulmate, see their fears and insecurities, their hopes and dreams. It means by the time that they meet, they know everything about each other. It's a wonderful way to start a relationship.

Unless you're Nico, who doesn't dream of anything at all, unsure if it means that he doesn't have a soulmate, or if his soulmate doesn't dream. Either way he's given up all hope of meeting them, happy to get on with his life, enjoy the company of friends. Relationships are overrated anyway.

***

"I had the strangest dream last night," Kevin said, sipping at his coffee as Nico looked over the schedules for the next week. He'd thought that being shift supervisor would be fun but all it meant was having to do extra work, as well as everything that the other firefighters did. Although the pay raise had been nice, and it did mean that he was a little bit closer to being chief, if he wanted to one day.

"What was it this time?" Nico smiled, Kevin's dreams were crazy, his soulmate either had to be a writer or an actor to explain the wild assortment of things Kevin dreamed about. Although Nico wondered what it felt like to dream, about anything, and he wondered if anyone was watching his dreams each night, telling their friend all about the crazy things that they'd seen.

"A rabbit. A rabbit that told me, 'bring a jacket to Russia because it's cold,' which I imagine is true, but it was still quite random. And then we went ice skating."

"You went ice skating with a rabbit?" Nico laughed, wondering if rabbits had any concept of ice skating and then realised that was the sort of random thing that he thought about. That realisation shook him and he found himself wondering if Kevin was his soulmate. He did sleep like the dead, so maybe he didn't dream?

"Yes. Then there was something about eating waffles and an old Swedish nursery rhyme."

"Hmm. You know Swedish?" Nico marvelled at the fact that Kevin seemed to have a variety of hidden talents, although with his soulmate, he was going to need them.

"It's similar to Danish." Kevin shrugged, and Nico was in awe, he only knew German and English.

The alarm blared and Nico put down his pen, leaving the schedules to be finished after this call out.

*

Esteban was sat at home, wondering what he wanted to eat. He looked through all the cupboards and the fridge, twice, before deciding that none of the food they had in the house was what he wanted to eat. He cursed his soulmate for doing this to him, last night he'd dreamed of a nice juicy burger, with all the toppings and fries, so many fries.

He groaned out loud, sending a text to his friend and flatmate Checo, asking if he wanted anything since he was going to walk into town and get food for himself. Hopefully he'd have answered by the time he got there, and with that he was grabbing his coat and wallet and heading for McDonald's.

The walk cleared his head but the warmth of the restaurant as he walked in the door meant that his glasses steamed up and he fumbled to wipe them on his shirt, but it wasn't the right kind of material so it just smudged them.

He sighed before walking up to the counter, glad that he knew their menu off by heart so he didn't have to worry about not being able to see it.

"Can I take your order?" The cheery woman sounded familiar, he was in here quite a lot.

"I'll have… A Big Mac meal, a double bacon cheeseburger and mozzarella sticks." Esteban almost felt sick with how much food he'd ordered, but he was hungry and it would satisfy his cravings, for now.

He often wondered how big his soulmate was if they ate this much. Although maybe they dreamt of the food but didn't eat, maybe they had willpower.

The tray was crammed with food and he slunk off to a table in the corner, eating his food slowly as he savoured each bite, hoping that it would get him through the week. Lately his binges seemed to be getting closer together, his soulmate was obviously having a tough time and food, or the thought of food, was getting them through it. Hopefully.

Esteban didn't like the idea that they were out there somewhere, worrying and stressed, and he couldn't go and comfort them. He felt powerless, waiting for fate to do its thing, and he wished that there was a way to speed up the whole process. But he would only get the identifying mark after he'd met his soulmate, and then he could find them, if they wanted to be found.

He'd always thought that it was so unfair that people had to opt in to be on the soulmates databases, the myriad of apps that claimed they could match people, it would be so much easier if there was just one that everyone was on, so that people could always find their soulmate. But he would never want a relationship with someone who felt like they had to be with him, so if they didn't want to be found he would respect that. No matter how heart-breaking that realisation was.

Esteban stuffed another cold chip into his mouth, he wasn't sure why he was still eating, but it was his only connection to his soulmate so he finished it all, before slinking home through the rain.

*

"How's the promotion?" Paul asked, he was sitting with his new-born daughter who was sleeping peacefully.

"Stressful. I'm in danger of not fitting into my gear if I need any more comfort food." Nico was going to laugh but he didn't want to wake the little one, so in the end he let out a sigh, at least it was quiet. "When do you think you'll be back at work?"

"Too soon to say, depends how this one gets on, and if Laura wants to go back to work. Lawyers do make more than firefighters."

Nico felt a little sad for Paul, he loved being a firefighter, and yet he'd give it all up for his soulmate, for his family. It was times like this that made him glad that he didn't seem to have a soulmate, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to choose, although he wouldn't want to be with anyone who would ask him to.

The little one woke up and grabbed at Paul's finger, smile on her face, just like her father. And for the briefest second, Nico felt envious, but not enough for him to actually do something about finding his soulmate.

"I should be going. Got the early shift tomorrow." Nico waved goodbye, letting himself out and wandering home through the rain.

There was a hollow feeling inside him and he thought he was hungry but it was his soul trying to tell him that he was lonely, and in need of comfort that could love him back. But in the absence of that, he headed for McDonald's, where they dispensed comfort in brown paper bags.

***

A few days had passed and Nico seemed to be in constant need of comfort food, unable to get through a day without his fix.

He'd had a long shift today, nearly fifteen hours straight and because of that he was standing in McDonald's, at the end of a very long queue, enjoying the smell of grease in the air.

Nico was sure that he looked a mess; he hadn't even bothered to get a shower, he'd just thrown on his jeans and hoodie and headed out the door.

*

Esteban was looking around as he ate, it seemed like he was unable to help himself at the moment and he constantly required comfort food, although it didn't seem to be comforting him anymore.

He saw a man standing in the queue and there was one loose strand of hair in an otherwise perfect mane and it was driving him crazy. Which, with the lack of sleep, and the stress, and the diet of mostly junk food, meant that his normal instincts just to let it go were overridden by the bit of him that needed to put the wayward strand back in its place.

Esteban stood up and walked over to the stranger, not even hesitating as he smoothed the strand behind his ear and his fingers tingled with how soft it was.

"I'm sorry." Esteban blushed as he looked away. He couldn't believe that he just did that. And his hand was still resting by the side of the stranger's face.

"Don't be." His lips were on Esteban's, soft and moist, and they felt like perfection pressed against his own. Esteban gasped as the stranger ran his fingers through his hair, tilting his head so that he could deepen the kiss.

Esteban was so shocked by it all that he broke the kiss, running out into the dim evening light and wondering what the hell possessed him to do something like that.

*

"I can't believe you didn't get their name," Checo said, "You've been waiting so long to meet your soulmate."

"They might not be my soulmate." Esteban frowned, why had he been so quick to run? He had waited for this for such a long time and he couldn't even spare them two minutes so that he could introduce himself? "I just…" Esteban didn't know what to say, he'd waited for this for so long that he'd turned it into a big deal in his head and he wasn't sure that he could explain that to Checo.

"Do you have a mark?" Checo asked, and Esteban couldn't believe that he hadn't thought to check and see if the mystery man really was his soulmate.

Esteban took off his hoodie and started checking his arms, but there was no sign of a fingerprint. He started stripping off his clothes as Checo ran his fingers over every inch of skin, looking for the identifying mark.

"It's not here, unless it's under your boxers." Checo smiled, they'd been friends for years, and they'd seen each other naked many times but with the nerves over maybe meeting his soulmate, Esteban was feeling self-conscious. What if he was? What if he wasn't, and his soulmate was someone else that he'd bumped into during the day?

Esteban sighed before pulling down his boxers, and Checo's fingers settled on the top of his bum. "Is it there?" Esteban could feel his heart racing, after all these years he had finally met his soulmate, and he didn't know who they were.

But it was a strange coincidence that the tattoo was where the mysterious stranger with his almost perfect mane had rested his hand while they kissed. Did that mean he was his soulmate?

Checo took a photo of it, and Esteban spent the night putting it into all the soulmate databases that he could find. He knew some of them were a scam, but he didn't care, he just had to find them, make it all right, explain why he'd run away and hope that they didn't hate him for it.

*

Nico curled up after a long and confusing day. He'd gone to run after his mystery man but there was a family blocking the doorway and by the time he'd got out into the street the crowds obscured his view. He had no way of knowing which way they had gone. So, he'd slunk back into McDonald's and got his comfort food, he didn't know what to think about the kiss.

It had felt so nice, and he felt like the universe might have been trying to point something out to him. But if they were his soulmate, why would they run? Nico couldn't figure it all out.

In the end he'd tried to relax by having a nice hot bath, but his mind was still restless, unable to process all the things that had happened to him. He thought about calling a friend, but he wasn't sure if there was anyone who would understand, everyone he knew wanted to find their soulmate, and they found Nico's refusal to even look for his kind of bizarre.

That night Nico had curled up to sleep, and his mind was filled with images of long blond hair, and burgers. Did this mean the guy from McDonald's was his soulmate? He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

***

"The strangest thing happened to me yesterday," Nico said, he wasn't chatting to anyone in particular but he just had to tell someone.

"Did you dream?" Kevin's eyes lit up and Nico knew that he was in for hundreds of questions today.

"Yes, but that's not the strangest bit."

"Tell me everything." Kevin made himself comfy and Marcus pulled his chair a little closer.

Nico shook his head, but he told them everything. The kiss. The dream. The feeling that maybe he's missing something in his life.

"Like your soulmate?" Marcus said, and Nico winced at the word, he'd spent so long telling himself that he didn't want one, didn't need one, that the idea of _his soulmate_ , was a strange and abstract one.

He wanted to tell Kevin and Marcus that they hadn't found their soulmates yet, but he knew that was cruel. Nico knew that just because he was feeling conflicted about it all, wasn't a good enough reason to take it out on them.

And as though the fickle force that controlled the universe had finally taken pity on him, the alarm blared to say that they were needed. Nico was glad that all his training was an automatic reflex, blocking out all his worries and fears.

*

Nico was sitting at home, with two pizzas, that the delivery guy had given him with a pitying look, since he could see pretty much all of Nico's flat from the door.

He was finishing off the last slice when there was a knock on the door and for a split second he wondered if the mysterious stranger from McDonald's had found him.

Nico shook his head when he saw it was Paul, considering it was nearly midnight, his mystery man was a more likely caller.

"Are Laura and the little one okay?" Nico asked, even though Paul seemed fine he couldn't figure out why he was here.

"Yes. But Kevin tells me that you're not."

Kevin, that little gossip. Nico should have guessed that he'd tell Paul. But a little bit of him was grateful that he was here, for all that he'd protested that he was fine, he wasn't.

Paul made himself comfy on the sofa and brought out a large bar of chocolate which he offered to Nico as though he was a timid animal that would be easily startled.

"So do you want to talk about it?"

Nico sighed, but it didn't stop him taking the chocolate and tearing at the wrapper. "No, but I don't think you'll take that for an answer."

"Have you got a mark?" Paul compressed his lips, Nico could see that he was trying not to push, not to judge, but like most people who had found their soulmates, they just wanted everyone else to be like them. Although he knew how happy Paul was with his family, so he didn't blame him for wishing Nico the same happiness.

"I haven't checked." Nico still wasn't sure, and if he found his soulmate's tattoo he knew that he'd have to admit what he'd been denying all these years. That he had a soulmate, that there was someone out there who was meant for him, who he was going to share his life with. And that was going to take some getting used to. "I never thought that I would have a soulmate, and over the years, I realised I didn't need one. I'm fine as I am, with friends and family."

Paul leant in for a hug, holding Nico as he nibbled on his chocolate bar.

"I'm just so confused. And I can see their dreams now." Nico ran his fingers through his hair, and Paul's hand shot out to touch where his fingers had just been.

"Hold still." Paul tugged at his hair, combing through it like a monkey looking for fleas.

"Not that this isn't nice and all but do you want to tell me what you're doing?" Nico was sure that it sounded more frustrated than joking, but it had been a long day.

"You have a mark." Paul pressed his finger against Nico's temple, just inside the hair line. Where the stranger had touched him, stroked his hair. "It looks like a fingerprint. Do you have a razor?"

"What? No." Nico shook his head. "You're not shaving my head."

"Don't you want to know who your soulmate is?"

Nico bit his lip, but the feeling of dread in his stomach said no, and he'd always trusted his gut. "No."

***

"Anything?" Checo asked, it was all Esteban could think about at the moment, and Checo was being so supportive. He felt bad about it, but he'd find a way to repay him once he'd tracked down his soulmate.

"Not yet." Esteban tried to suppress a yawn but it was no use, and Checo ended up yawning too. He'd been going to McDonald's every day after work, even though he'd been dreaming of pizza. But he knew that his mystery man had been there so he had gone there every night until they closed, hoping that his blond haired god would stroll back into his life.

All the apps had turned up nothing, but maybe he wasn't in them. A shiver crept down his spine, what if he never saw him again? Soulmate or not, there was definitely something about him that had got under his skin, and into his soul.

***

Nico had spent the last few nights dreaming, it was tiring and he wasn't sure how other people lived with it all the time. Sleep was no longer restful for him and he found that he was doing nothing but working and sleeping in order to function. And eating. Comfort food was becoming a necessary part of his life and even he was starting to worry about it.

The dreams were getting increasingly frantic, he felt like he was chasing something that was just out of his reach and he knew that if he could just reach it, that everything would be perfect. But he could never quite get a hold of it, a tantalising dream that he couldn't make a reality.

He strolled along the street, heading towards McDonald's, enjoying the temporary respite from the cold weather. In his bag were new razor blades, he'd decided to shave his head, he had to see what the tattoo was, hoping that it would lead him to his soulmate. Although a little bit of him wanted it to be the stranger with his warm brown eyes, who couldn't keep his hands off his hair.

The queue was long and Nico was hoping that this was a sign, the universe recreating the events of their first meeting. He was scanning over the faces of the people sitting when he saw his mystery man.

Would he want to speak to him? He'd run away last time and he didn't want to upset him. But he had to say something, if nothing else, just to let him know that he was ready to be his soulmate, if he wanted him.

"Hi." Nico kept his distance, but then he saw what his mystery man was looking at on his phone – the findmysoulmate app. "I'm Nico."

"Esteban." The way he fluttered his eyelashes sent sparks through Nico's body, he had never seen anyone as beautiful as Esteban, even the way he fidgeted with his glasses was mesmerising.

Nico could see why his friends and family had been trying to encourage him to find his soulmate. It was like having all his happiest memories flash before his eyes, and knowing that there was more to come.

"I've been looking for you. But you were hard to find." Esteban put up a picture of his tattoo, Nico's fingerprint and he recognised it immediately. The scar through his left index finger, from training all those years ago when he was a rookie.

He stared at the screen and then his finger, showing Esteban the line that cut through the swirls, a perfect match for Esteban's tattoo.

"Where is it?" Nico asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Esteban took his hand and rested it on his hip before sliding it down to the perfect curve of his rear with a blush on his cheeks.

"Where's yours?" Esteban took Nico's hand, if it had stayed there much longer things were going to end up getting overly affectionate, and quickly. Not that he could talk, he'd ended up kissing Nico before they'd even said a word, or knew each other's name.

"Here." Nico ruffled his hair in the hope that it was the right bit. "I was going to shave my head so that I could find out who you were."

Esteban gasped, it was Nico's beautiful locks that had brought them together. "I love your hair." Although if it had meant that they could find each other, he'd have loved Nico even if he was bald.

Nico nuzzled against his hand as Esteban ran his fingers through his hair and Nico let out a quiet purr.

"Do you want some food?" Esteban offered him a burger, still wrapped, and Nico accepted, he was kind of hungry, although now he'd found Esteban the need for comfort food had waned.

They ate and chatted away. Nico was amazed that even after just a few days of seeing Esteban's dreams, he felt like he'd known him forever.

"What are my dreams like?" Esteban asked, munching on a chip that must have been stone cold by now.

"You didn't dream." Nico's hand reached out for Esteban's, intertwining their fingers. "But after the kiss, I could feel your worries, your fears, chasing after something but not being able to reach it."

"It was an amazing kiss." Esteban chewed on his lip, his eyes glancing up at Nico as though he was daring him to make a move.

"It was." Nico leant in, letting their lips meet. It was chaste and unhurried, both happy just to have the intimacy. "Do you want to get out of here?" Nico wasn't sure if it was too forward, he wasn't sure what the etiquette for new soulmates was and for the first time he wished that he'd paid attention to these things, in the unlikely event that he'd need them.

He could slink off to the bathroom and call Paul, or even Kevin since he seemed to know everything. But Esteban was smiling and nodding so he wanted this too. Nico took his hand and led him out of the restaurant, at peace with himself for the first time in a long while.

The walk back to Nico's flat didn't take long, and once the door was shut behind them Esteban lunged at Nico, tugging at his hair as they kissed passionately.

Nico picked Esteban up, heading for the bedroom, his instincts guiding him. All rational thought had shut down and he just wanted to wrap himself up in his soulmate, delight in every gasp and whimper as their bodies rubbed together.

He didn't remember stripping out of his clothes, or seeing Esteban do it but they were lying on the bed naked, time feeling like more of an illusion than usual as Esteban's warm hands explored every inch of his pale skin. And he was so pale compared to the golden tan of Esteban.

Every time that Esteban ran his fingers through his hair he felt his skin tingle, his soul consumed with every touch.

Nico accidentally brushed against Esteban's hard cock and the groan that he let out was pornographic, and Nico kissed his way down Esteban's body, hovering as he reached his cock.

"Do you want to…? I don't have any…" Nico wanted to run and hide, there was no easy way to say, _I really thought I'd spend the rest of my life alone, playing with myself in the shower and therefore I don't have condoms, or lube… Although I'd never considered that you'd be a guy either, but now I've met you I'm so glad that you're mine._

Esteban leaned up for a kiss but instead of the lips, he kissed the end of Nico's nose, stroking his cheek with his thumb as he smiled. "I have…" He scurried out of bed, looking for his bag that was in the hallway along with his jacket and shoes, dumped without ceremony as they'd made their way to the bedroom.

The grin as Esteban returned with a little pack of condoms and a tiny tube, was the most beautiful thing. Nico felt his heart rate rise and he knew that even with his lack of experience it was going to be amazing.

Esteban rolled him onto his back, kissing every freckle as he toyed with his nipples. Nico was clutching at the sheets already but then Esteban's warm mouth was surrounding his cock and he arched his back, causing Esteban to gag before holding his hips tight and settling into a nice rhythm.

Nico felt a slick finger pressing at his hole, and although he'd never thought of it arousing, now that it was Esteban doing it to him he was screaming out for more, squirming on the bed to make Esteban hurry up.

The second he entered him he felt the strangest mixture of pleasure and pain, the warm feeling mixed with the stretch and the way he teased at that spot, making his vision fuzzy and his hips buck as he played with him. Nico already felt like he was on the brink of orgasm and yet he knew that he wanted this to last, to draw it out until they were both sweaty and sated.

Esteban added another finger and the gasp Nico let out was orgasmic in and of itself, but he took his time opening Nico up, he wanted to make sure that it was only pleasure that Nico felt.

Nico's mind was reeling with how good Esteban felt inside him, and he knew that once his thick cock was inside him it was going to be spectacular. "I want you inside me."

Esteban let Nico's cock fall from his mouth, staring at him as if to ask, _are you sure_ , but the way Nico smiled left no doubt in his mind. Although it didn't stop him asking anyway, just to hear his breathless voice.

"Do you want this?" Esteban asked, sliding the condom over his cock before adding more lube.

"Yes." Nico's voice was wracked with need and his beautiful blue eyes were almost completely black. He held his breath as Esteban lined up with him, grasping at the sheets as he pushed in, waiting for him to be completely inside him before taking a deep breath.

"Relax." Esteban's voice startled him, he was in a trance, letting all the new sensations wash over him as he relaxed around Esteban. He tried a few experimental clenches, enjoying the waves of pleasure that it sent through his body.

Esteban started to rock his hips, slow at first but as Nico got more and more demanding he picked up the pace until the slap of skin on skin was like the crack of a whip. "I'm close." Nico was gasping and he opened his eyes to see the Esteban had one hand behind his back, the other propping him up so that he didn't squish Nico.

"Not yet." Esteban's voice held so much promise, told him that something even better was waiting for him if only he could wait a little while longer. And Nico really wanted to know what better was going to be.

Nico let out a pained whine as Esteban withdrew, feeling empty and vulnerable but already satisfied. Even though he hadn't come, he'd felt the shudder of an orgasm, his muscles twitching with that familiar response.

Esteban rolled a condom over Nico's hard cock and it dawned on him what Esteban had been doing with his other hand, he'd been opening himself up. Nico gasped as Esteban sunk down on to him, he couldn't believe that he'd been so close to coming this whole time, and now Esteban was wrapped around him, towering over him, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to last much longer.

He had a magnificent grin on his face, Esteban already looked like he'd won the grand prize, and when he started to ride Nico, with his head thrown back as his dark locks fell around his face, framing it perfectly. Nico held Esteban's hips tight, stroking where his fingerprint was and he swore that he felt the crackle of static electricity as he ran his fingers over it, heightening his already oversensitive skin and when he saw Esteban stroking himself with a grin on his face, that was all it took to have Nico coming hard, tears in his eyes as he babbled in German, praising whatever fickle creature that had put Esteban in his life.

Esteban slumped down into his arms and he kissed at his forehead, stroking his back just to watch the shivers while his skin was still sensitive.

"I'm so glad that you're mine." Esteban whispered, he sounded like he could drift off to sleep at any second.

"And I'm so glad that you're mine." Nico drifted off to sleep with Esteban curled in next to him and he couldn't believe that he'd thought this wasn't for him. Because now Esteban was all that he wanted, for the rest of their lives.


	2. Kevin's Trance

Kevin had, for as long as he could remember, always had the most vivid of dreams. And every day since he was eleven, he had written down his dreams in a little notepad, hoping that it would help him find his soulmate.

Now, twenty-three years later, he had over a hundred notebooks all filled with random facts about his soulmate, very random some of them, but he hadn't met his soulmate yet.

He had the feeling that they were close, and that they had been getting closer, but he wasn't sure how much of that was the dreams. Being inside someone's head, literally seeing their dreams and nightmares did make him feel like he knew them already.

Maybe it was emotional closeness he felt, rather than physical. But it didn't stop him checking his skin each night to see if he had a new tattoo, of his soulmate's fingerprint.

*

"I had the strangest dream last night," Kevin said, sipping at his coffee. He wasn't sure why he always told Nico, since he didn't dream but he just had to tell someone.

"What was it this time?" Nico smiled, and Kevin wondered if Nico could be his soulmate, they did get on well, but Nico was so dead set against the idea of soulmates that it seemed wrong to ask. Kevin had checked all over his body for a tattoo of a fingerprint, Nico's fingerprint, but he couldn't see it. Although it could have been hidden under his own tattoos, but he'd seen on other people that it just came through in a contrasting colour.

"A rabbit. A rabbit that told me, 'bring a jacket to Russia because it's cold,' which I imagine is true, but it was still quite random. And then we went ice skating." Kevin shook his head, it was bizarre even by his standards.

"You went ice skating with a rabbit?" Nico laughed, and it was a lovely laugh that warmed Kevin's soul.

"Yes. Then there was something about eating waffles and an old Swedish nursery rhyme."

"Hmm. You know Swedish?" Nico looked impressed and Kevin was glad that he could still surprise people, he knew his boyish looks and choice of profession meant that people assumed he wasn't that smart. Thanks to his soulmate he'd learned Swedish, which wasn't that dissimilar to Danish, French, Flemish _and_ Dutch (because he couldn't tell which one his soulmate was speaking in from so few words), Russian, which had been difficult because of the whole different alphabet, and finally German. Which was the one that gave him hope that his soulmate might be Nico, and he just watched a lot of foreign films late at night.

"It's similar to Danish." Kevin shrugged, he didn't want Nico to know the lengths he had gone to, all just to find his soulmate.

Kevin was relieved when the alarm went off and they flew into action. He made a mental note to ask Nico what films he watched each day, and see if they corresponded with his dreams.

***

"What does, 'ya khochu, chtoby pogladit krolika,' mean?" Kevin had heard it in his dream last night and he wanted to ask while it was still fresh in his mind.

"Where did you hear that?" Dany was laughing and Kevin had no idea what he'd just said to him.

"In my dream, I think my soulmate can speak Russian, so that's why I wanted to learn." Kevin felt a little awkward, would Dany think that he was hinting that they might be soulmates? But he didn't have a mark, and he'd been coming for lessons for a while now.

"It means, 'I want to pet the bunny'." Dany laughed some more before apologising.

Kevin took out his little notebook and started writing it down, adding to the list of things that his soulmate dreamt of. "They really like rabbits."

"Or maybe they just look like one?" Dany laughed, baring his teeth and Kevin scrunched his face up as he thought about the implications.

"Can you speak other languages?" Kevin asked, he knew that his tone had changed from friendly to insistent, but he needed to know, maybe they were soulmates and they just hadn't got the marks yet. He had heard of it happening. Although had he ever actually touched Dany?

"I can speak, Spanish, and Italian." Dany looked at him with his head tilted.

"And do you dream in those languages?" Kevin stood so that their arms brushed together, just lightly, he was going straight home so he could see if he had a new mark.

"Sometimes, but mostly Russian." Dany gathered up his text books, he was a student who gave lessons on the side to earn a little bit of extra cash.

Kevin nodded, he was sure that all these questions were probably annoying Dany. "A friend of a friend is having a flat warming party and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

"A friend of a friend?" Dany raised an eyebrow and looked at Kevin with a strange look.

"Yeah, he's new in town and from the sounds of it doesn't know many people so my friend, Stoffel, said to bring whoever I want."

"Sure, text me the details." Dany went in for a hug, after his half-hearted attempt at making contact with Dany a hug did seem the easiest way.

Now to go home and check to see if he had any new tattoos.

***

Knowing that Nico had found his soulmate was a bit of a blow. He was happy for him, he wasn't that petty that he would hold a grudge over something that Nico had no control over, but it did make him wonder where in the world his soulmate was, and how they were doing without him.

He'd also managed to cross Dany off the list which was a bit of a disappointment, but they were going to be going to Stoffel's friend's flat warming party at the weekend which should take his mind off of it. Kevin had bought some nice beers, and his firefighter ID was good for money off at the pizza place that he always used, as he was going straight from work to the party.

Kevin was staring at his notebook, looking at all the things his soulmate dreamt of, and wondered what sort of person could have such wide and varied tastes, as well as a collection of languages that was nothing short of impressive. Although he had no way of knowing if they were fluent in any of them, but he'd learnt them nonetheless. When he met them, he wanted to be able to talk to them, to know everything about them.

Marcus strolled in to the little kitchen at the fire station and sat down next to him. He was sure that his face was wrinkled in thought and his normal smile was a frown.

"What's wrong?" Marcus sipped at his coffee, before making a strange hissing noise as he realised that it was too hot to drink.

"Do you ever wonder what your soulmate's doing? If they'd be happier with you in their life?" Kevin had known Marcus for so long, that they hadn't talked about anything like this in years. Not since they were teenagers looking up at the stars and wishing that they would meet their soulmate quickly. It hadn't stopped either of them dating, but sometimes just the realisation that they weren't the one was enough to end things pretty fast.

"Sometimes. But I think if you spend your whole life looking for 'the one' you might miss out on all the other things life is trying to offer you."

Kevin tilted his head, he wasn't sure when Marcus had got so wise. In his mind they were still dumb teenagers, although to do the job that they did, planning for the future wasn't always a useful skill.

"Oh."

"Is this because Nico's found his soulmate?"

"Maybe? No. It's because this really smart and funny guy is teaching me Russian but he's not my soulmate but we've definitely got a connection and the way he smiles just makes me want to kiss him." Kevin took a deep breath, "And he's coming to Stoffel's friend's party on Saturday and I feel all excited about seeing him again." Kevin took another deep breath and he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Jo," Marcus said, and Kevin gave him a quizzical look, adding a few more wrinkles onto his already furrowed brow. "Stoffel's friend, I saw them both the other day. He's a research assistant at the university."

"Oh." Kevin was sure that he should say something more, but he wasn't sure what else to say. Now that he'd unloaded all his worries he felt strangely empty, as though gravity had less of an effect on him.

"And you should ask him out. What's the worst that he can say?" Marcus sipped at his coffee again, this time there were no funny noises accompanying it.

"Thanks."

***

Kevin picked up Dany on the way to the party, it didn't seem fair to make him show up alone when he didn't know anyone, and it meant that he had someone to help carry the beer.

It also meant that he got a chance to ask Dany out on a date.

"What does your friend do?" Dany asked, and Kevin was amazed how easily the conversation flowed between the two of them.

"He's a teaching assistant at the university and he's working towards his PhD." Kevin had met Stoffel some years ago when he had just started studying, and the fire alarm kept going off in his halls. One night he'd ended up standing in the rain in only his boxers and Kevin had given him a blanket to keep him warm. He'd been surprised when a couple of days later Stoffel had wandered into the fire station to return the blanket, washed and everything.

They'd met up for coffee a few times and it was clear that they got on well. In hindsight Kevin was starting to see what Marcus meant about missing out while looking for 'the one'. But he'd got many years of friendship out of it so he wasn't going to complain.

"Which university?" Dany asked, there were many in the city, but one was much larger and offered lots more subjects than the others, which specialised in certain disciplines. Kevin wondered why he'd never thought to ask if Dany and Stoffel knew each other.

"University of Copenhagen. Stoffel Vandoorne?" Kevin wasn't sure how much of a coincidence it would be if they knew each other, since he met Stoffel in an equally random way.

"Don't know him. Must be in another department." Dany fidgeted with his fingers, arching them together as his leg jiggled.

Was he nervous? Kevin decided just to pile it all in and this way if he did it before they arrived, he could always take Dany home if he wanted to go. "Would you like to go out sometime?"

He heard Dany start to speak, but nothing came out.

"I know we're not soulmates, but I really like you and I thought you might feel the same." Kevin held his breath while waiting for Dany's reply, worried that he'd made everything more awkward.

"I do. Yes. I'd like that." Dany laughed, blushing as he smiled.

Kevin parked the car, but before getting out he leant over for a kiss, not caring how awkward it was with the gearstick in the way. It was worth it just to hear all the little gasps fall from Dany's pouty lips.

When Kevin broke the kiss he couldn't believe how beautiful Dany looked with his eyes glazed and lips parted. "We should really go up to the party."

"Yes." Dany went in for another kiss, his hands wandering inside Kevin's jumper and pulling him onto his lap.

*

Kevin was holding Dany's hand tight as he knocked on the door, a tall man answered the door, similar height to Dany with a nervous smile.

"Jo?"

"Dany? I didn't realise you were coming." Jo gave Dany a hug and Kevin looked on with a confused face until Stoffel appeared behind him, introducing Kevin and Dany before ushering them all inside.

"I teach Russian and Kevin's one of my students." Dany looked at where their hands were joined. "Jo supervises some of my labs at uni."

"It's a small world," Stoffel said, he pointed them in the direction of the living room before heading off to get beers for everyone and put Kevin's beers in the fridge.

Marcus was sitting on the sofa sipping a beer and eating crisps. He'd made himself at home and was resting his feet on the table, crumbs falling everywhere as he took another swig of his beer.

"How are you already here?" Kevin asked Marcus, he'd finished his shift a whole hour later than Kevin, and even with picking up Dany, he should have been here before him.

"Some of us weren't making out in the car." Marcus winked and Kevin laughed, he must have walked right past them.

"I can't believe you found your soulmate and didn't tell me," Stoffel handed Kevin a beer and he stared at it while clutching Dany's hand. Kevin realised that he hadn't spoken to Stoffel in a few days, and he hadn't told him about Dany, apart from the fact that he was bringing him to the party. He'd not mentioned the fact that he had feelings for Dany or that he was going to ask him out. Although asking him out on the way to the party had been spur of the moment, he'd thought about waiting until afterwards so that it wouldn't be as awkward if Dany said no.

"We're not soulmates." To their credit no-one gasped and apart from a few raised eyebrows nothing was said, which Kevin was relieved about.

"They're dating. It's cute," Marcus said, before shoving more crisps in his mouth.

"So when is everyone else arriving," Dany asked, desperate for a change in the topic of conversation.

"Erm… This is it. In fact, thanks to Stoffel it's three more people than I was expecting." Jo sat down and motioned for everyone else to do the same, thankfully there was enough seats for all of them.

"Oh." Dany slumped down on the sofa next to Marcus, sloshing his beer which dribbled onto his shirt.

They sat in silence for a minute until Kevin could bear it no longer. "I got sick of waiting for 'the one' and if their dreams are anything to go by, they're going to be more than I can handle."

"That's not true, anyone that would learn another language just because of their soulmate is truly worthy of them." Dany pulled Kevin down into the seat next to him, giving him a soft kiss. It felt strange to have Dany comforting him, since finding his soulmate would mean the end of their relationship but because of that it meant even more coming from him.

"You speak quite a few languages?" Jo asked, eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Yes. I speak Danish and English. Swedish, which isn't that dissimilar to Danish, French, Flemish _and_ Dutch because I couldn't tell which one my soulmate was speaking in from so few words. Russian, which has been difficult because of the whole different alphabet, which is why I went to Dany for lessons, and finally German." Kevin took a deep breath. "And I don't know if they're fluent in any of them, maybe they just really like foreign films?"

"Do you know what language this is, 'ya khochu, chtoby pogladit krolika'?"

Dany and Kevin burst out laughing and Jo looked confused until it dawned on Kevin that it was such an obscure phrase that it seemed too much like coincidence for Jo to have heard it randomly.

"Where did you hear that?" Kevin asked, he was staring at Jo now, the laughter having died away.

"In my dreams, but I couldn't work out what language it was."

Kevin took out his notebook as the others looked on, wondering what he was up to. "So you speak Russian." Kevin put a tick by it on the list of his soulmate's languages. "You speak French and Flemish." Kevin pointed at Stoffel before ticking them off the list.

"And Dutch…" Stoffel took a sip of his beer as he peered over to see Kevin's notebook.

"You speak Swedish. We all speak English. So who speaks German?" Kevin glanced around the room until he saw Jo raise his hand.

"I did my PhD there, picked up the language." Jo picked up a crisp that had fallen onto Marcus' shirt before eating it, munching thoughtfully. "So what does this all mean?"

"Between the four of you, you're my soulmate." Kevin put his hand out, hovering over the small coffee table in the middle of the room.

The others followed suit, all glancing at each other with amused looks as though this was some kind of elaborate hoax on Kevin's part.

Jo was the last to put his hand in, Stoffel nodded to say that it was okay. When Jo's hand met theirs there was a crackle of electricity, making their arm hairs stand on end.

They all laughed, it was silly after all but then Kevin's arm felt itchy and he pulled up his jumper sleeve to see that on top of his existing tattoos, there were four fingerprints, all neatly lined up along his wrist.

Each one was in a vivid colour that stood out against the black of his tattoo, sunset red, petrol blue, bright lilac and grass green. He held his arm out for the others to see.

"You're all my soulmates. That explains the crazy dreams." Kevin smiled, he knew that he should find the idea strange but it all made perfect sense. The feeling that his soulmate was getting closer when Jo moved to the city, fate bringing them all together.

"This is going to take some getting used to." Jo downed his beer, before squeezing in between Marcus and Dany on the sofa. Stoffel squished in at the end and Kevin felt peaceful, at ease, his frantic search over.

They spent the rest of the night chatting, getting to know each other and every story brought them closer together, answering the questions that their dreams had left unanswered.

"What happened here?" Kevin showed them the dates scribbled down in his notebook, with the words 'no dream' after them.

"I was in a coma." Jo looked at his empty beer bottle, fidgeting with the label as the others piled in to hug him.

The haze of alcohol had left them all sleepy, and the sofa seemed the only surface big enough for them all to sleep in a pile, snuggled under the blankets.

***

The five of them fell into an easy relationship, all supporting each other. It hadn't taken long for them to find a place big enough for them all, although finding a bed had been a much more difficult task. But it was worth it.

That first night together Kevin was glad that they had all shared their dreams before finding each other. It had allowed him to please his lovers, all taking turns until everyone was content. He never known sex to feel so good, and he'd known why dating had never worked out for him. Not because they weren't his soulmate, but because no one person was enough for him. For any of them.

And he'd always known that his sex drive bordered on ravenous, so having four guys, four cocks, to do with as he pleased was like heaven to him. They were able to satisfy him, body and soul.

 

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
